This week we go back to the end of the fourth month of the decade. During the week that led up to the airing of this countdown, Rosie Ruiz cheated to win the Boston Marathon, and three men rigged the Pennsylvania Lottery. Amid all the chicanery, these songs played in the background:
40 - "The Seduction," James Last
39 - "The Rose," Bette Midler
38 - "Train in Vain," The Clash
37 - "Only a Lonely Heart Sees," Felix Cavaliere
36 - "Set Me Free," Utopia
35 - "The Second Time Around," Shalamar
34 - "Him," Rupert Holmes
33 - "Heart Hotels," Dan Fogelberg
32 - "Fire in the Morning," Melissa Manchester
31 - "Do Right," Paul Davis
The first two spots on the countdown are occupied by songs from movies. German James Last, a composer and bandleader who has had massive success in Europe, primarily through big-band style covers of pop hits, is here performing the Giorgio Moroder-penned love theme from the Richard Gere film American Gigolo. Basically, it's an instrumental featuring piano and Moroder's trademark synths. I wasn't seduced in the slightest. And Bette Midler had her biggest hit to date with the title song from a movie in which she plays a singer loosely based on Janis Joplin. It's a big, beautiful ballad about frustration and hope. I think it's gotten a bit of a cheesy rep over the years, but I still like it. I can't imagine Janis singing it, though
Then we have three groups. British punk pioneers The Clash made their U.S. Top 40 debut with a song that was added so late to the London Calling album that it wasn't even listed on the LP sleeve. It's a rolling funk-rocker about a relationship that's falling apart. Just plain good. Utopia, the band fronted by musician and producer Todd Rundgren, hat their only pop hit with this catchy little popper about wanting to be let out. I'd forgotten about this one, and I was very happy to be reminded of it. I can always use more Rundgren in my life. And Shalamar return from last time with this springy bit of disco funk about taking advantage of another chance at love. I must admit I liked it better the sec...no, I won't say it. But it's true.
What's left over is a big whack of MOR. Felix Cavaliere, a former member of 60s hitmakers The Rascals, had his only solo hit with this blandwich about loneliness and stuff. I'd much rather hear "A Beautiful Morning" or "Groovin'." Rupert Holmes is back from two months ago with his forgettable song about being cheated on. Dan Fogelberg had another of his hits with this ballad that compares love to a Hilton or a Ramada. It's kind of silly, but I like that. Melissa Manchester picked up her first hit of this decade with this song about how she and her old lover would begin marathon sex sessions in the early dawn hours. I wonder if Melissa "cried out loud" during these, heh heh. And Mr. Excitement, Paul Davis, is here with a song that's just as boring as his other stuff until you realize that it has an overtly Christian theme, with lines about how "He gave his life for me," and "He'll be your guiding light." Kinda sneaky, Paulie boy. But I admire that.
30 - "How Do I Make You," Linda Ronstadt
29 - "Funkytown," Lipps Inc.
28 - "And the Beat Goes On," The Whispers
27 - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Queen
26 - "Breakdown Dead Ahead," Boz Scaggs
25 - "Brass in Pocket," The Pretenders
24 - "Stonp," The Brothers Johnson
23 - "Any Way You Want It," Journey
22 - "Cars," Gary Numan
21 - "I Can't Help It," Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John
We begin this section with two female-fronted rock tunes. Linda Ronstadt is back from last time, wondering how to get you to dream about her. I think dumping Jerry Brown would have helped at the time. Who wants to have him showing up in your nocturnal reveries? And Akron, Ohio's Chrissie Hynde and the band she formed when she moved to England had their first U.S. hit with this swaggering slow-burner about the desire to be noticed. "I'm special," Hynde sneers. "I gotta have some of your attention. Give it to me!" This might not have worked for most people, but Chrissie was, and is, special, and her demand for attention was enthusiastically met. There really is nobody else here like her.
Next we have two electronically-enhanced dancefloor classics. Lipps Inc., a group that was mainly driven by Minneapolis writer-producer Steven Greenberg, had their first and only pop hit with this jittery electrodisco number that would top the charts for four weeks. I have no idea where Funkytown is, but yes, this song makes me want to go there. And Englishman Gary Webb became a huge star in Britain in the late 1970s, first with the band Tubeway Army and then as Gary Numan. But his only impact in America was made with this synth-heavy earworm in which Numan robotically intones lyrics about being in an automobile. The first two verses are about how comfortable and safe he feels in his car, but the last two have him longing for company and contemplating getting out. Very odd all around, and you know what that means. Yes, "Cars" takes this week's Uneasy Rider.
Two soul groups are in this bunch. L.A. vocal group the Whispers, after a decade of R&B hits, cracked the pop Top 40 for the first time with this insistent groover about keepin' on keepin' on. Will Smith would later sample this for his hit "Miami." The original is way better. And George and Louis Johnson had their third and final pop Top Ten with this very good disco-funker about going out and dancing. Definitely my favorite of theirs.
There are also a pair of rock bands. Queen return from last time with their retro-rock raveup about romantic insanity. And Journey scored their second pop hit with this blast of big dumb wonderfulness that helped Monty Burns' son Larry start a spontaneous party in downtown Springfield. Arguably Journey's finest moment. It's simple, it's loud, it's fun.
I'll close my look at the first half with a solo man and a male-female duet. Boz Scaggs is her with a rockin' warning of imiminent relationship danger. Not quite in the league of "Lido Shuffle" or "Lowdown," but still, a nice little addition to his catalogue. And the youngest Gibb brother teamed up with ONJ for this pretty but insignificant ballad. There just wasn't a lot of chemistry between them. It was less than the sum ot its parts.
Tomorrow: radio infatuation, displays of insanity, and an invitation that only a fool would decline.
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